美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Southern Baptist Convention reaffirmed that only men should serve as pastors

The Southern Baptist Convention reaffirmed that only men should serve as pastors²

Transcript³

NPR's A Martinez talks to Daniel Darling, who teaches at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, about restrictions⁴ on women as pastors in the church.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The Southern Baptist Convention is reaffirming what church leader decided⁵ more than two decades ago - that only men should serve as pastors. Earlier this year, the Protestant denomination⁶ kicked out one of its biggest congregations, Saddleback Church in California, along with Fern Creek⁷ Baptist Church in Kentucky, because they had women pastors. And yesterday at a meeting in New Orleans, appeals from those churches were rejected. Daniel Darling teaches at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Daniel, why can't women be pastors?

DANIEL DARLING: Well, this is a long-standing belief among Southern Baptists, really throughout the history of the Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Baptists believe that men and women are equal, and women have full, you know, participation⁸ in the life and ministry⁹ of churches. But there's a particular role of pastor¹ that we believe the Scripture¹⁰ has restricted to men. You'll notice that we not only affirmed the decision with Saddleback and Fern Creek, but also released a resolution - Resolution Five - which really affirmed the role of women in the life of the church. Many of our Southern Baptist leaders and Southern Baptist heroes throughout our history - Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong and others - are women. So I think it's - this is a distinctive¹¹ - one of the distinctives of Southern Baptist conventions. You know, some Christians¹² disagree with this, that - in other denominations¹³. But this action really was just in keeping with the long-standing position of Southern Baptists.

MART?NEZ: And, Daniel, out of curiosity, is there one particular biblical verse that the SBC points to to restrict women from being pastors?

DARLING: Well, I think one verse would be 1 Timothy 2:2, where it says, I do not give women the authority to teach over men. Baptists take it from that passage, but also in the qualifications for pastors in 1 Timothy and in Titus and really in the sort of patterns of - in Scripture of those who are preaching and proclaiming have really been restricted to men.

MART?NEZ: So if a church has no men available or willing to be pastors, the SBC would rather lose a congregation than let a woman lead.

DARLING: Well, I think the SBC would rather we raise up young men and - to fill those positions.

MART?NEZ: But in the absence of that. That's the question - in the absence of that.

DARLING: Well, the SBC has believed this for all of its history. And so this is kind of in accordance with what the Southern Baptists have always believed, that women do have participation in the life of the church, that women and men are equal, but they have different and distinct roles.

MART?NEZ: Now, if the SBC enshrines its prohibition¹⁴ on women pastors in its constitution, the church could exclude, through disfellowshipping, thousands of congregations. How wide is this rift¹⁵ going to get, Daniel?

DARLING: I don't think the rift is going to get very wide, and I don't think the practice is very widespread. And you'll notice this was not the only issue that the SBC addressed. Even when it comes to disfellowshipping, the SBC also disfellowshipped a church that handled sexual abuse wrong, that continued to hire a pastor who was accused of sexual abuse misconduct and so disfellowshipped from that church.

And the SBC also addressed a number of other issues. There was a resolution on immigration - urging immigration reform in Congress. It reaffirmed its commitment to robust¹⁶ sexual abuse reform, reauthorizing the task force to help churches really get this right, and also to create a database and a website that lists those who have committed sexual abuse. And so I think this is one of our distinctives, but it's not the only thing we're characterized by. We're characterized by missions, and we have the third-largest disaster relief operation. And, really, we've planted 10,000 churches since 2010. So this was one of many issues that our family of churches addressed.

MART?NEZ: Daniel Darling is a director at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of the book "Agents Of Grace." Daniel, thanks.

DARLING: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

2 pastors   

n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do we show respect to our pastors, missionaries, Sunday school teachers? 我们有没有尊敬牧师、宣教士，以及主日学的老师？ 来自互联网
• Should pastors or elders be paid, or serve as a volunteer? 牧师或长老需要付给酬劳，还是志愿的事奉呢？ 来自互联网

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

7 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

8 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

11 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

12 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

13 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

15 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

16 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。